Bomb-making materials seized in Grand Junction

By: The Associated Press

July 8, 2013Updated: July 8, 2013 at 1:37 pm

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Residents of the Racquet Club Apartments complex in Grand Junction, Colo., watch Sunday, July 7, 2013, as a member of the Grand Junction Bomb Squad carries a homemade explosive device from a backpack to the disposal unit on the ground before him. The Mesa County Sheriff's Department was called to the scene and evacuated the building where multiple improvised explosive devices had been left. (AP Photo/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, Gretel Daugherty)

GRAND JUNCTION — Grand Junction authorities are trying to find out who left a backpack loaded with improvised explosives near an apartment complex. Police described the devices as bottles and canisters filled with gunpowder, sealed by duct tape with fuses attached.

An entire building in the Racquet Club apartment complex was evacuated for more than two hours Sunday afternoon after the bomb squad was called to defuse the devices.

Residents said a bomb disposal expert in full blast suit picked through the suspicious backpack, carefully removing items and placing them into disposal units.

"That's the first time this has ever happened. An officer knocked on our door and said there's a possible bomb threat, we're evacuating this building so if you can please just gather the things that you need and then exit to the north so you're in a safe area," resident Kristin Howe told KJCT-TV.

A Grand Junction Police Department spokesman would not say whether the items were actually capable of exploding, confirming only that they were homemade. The spokesman did not return a phone call Monday seeking more details.

According to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (http://tinyurl.com/n8y7bn7 ), witnesses saw at least one bottle being removed from the backpack, along with a few other smaller items sized a few inches wide.

As of Sunday evening, no arrests had been made. Police would not say if they had any suspects in the case.